Honoring Catholic Sisters for their
contributions to the United States.

Whereas approximately 220,000 Catholic Sisters have served
in the United States beginning even before the Nation's founding;

Whereas approximately 57,000 Catholic Sisters serve in the
United States today;

Whereas Catholic Sisters are women who dedicate their
lives to God by serving God’s people, especially the poor, the sick, and the
marginalized;

Whereas, fortified by a deep faith in God and an
unwavering commitment to the common good, American nuns built the Catholic
Church in the United States through their ministry to the vulnerable, the sick,
and the poor;

Whereas individuals trained by the Catholic Sisters serve
as health providers in communities across the Nation;

Whereas Catholic hospitals treated approximately one in 6
patients in the United States;

Whereas Catholic Sisters helped establish the Nation’s
largest private school system and founded more than 150 colleges and
universities and educated millions of young people in the United States;

Whereas, since 1980, 9 Catholic Sisters from the United
States have been martyred while working for social justice and human rights
overseas;

Whereas Catholic Sisters who have answered the call of the
Second Vatican Council to seek justice in the world continue the
vital mission of teaching our children in schools, healing the sick in
hospitals, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, administering major
institutions, encouraging corporate responsibility, and advocating for public
policies that honor human dignity; and

Whereas the congregations of women religious, along with
their respective organizations, make the United States stronger and deserve our
deepest appreciation: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—

(1)

recognizes and
commends the Catholic Sisters of the United States, whose inspiring legacy of
service enriches the Nation;

(2)

honors the
contributions of Catholic Sisters to the Nation; and

(3)

stands in
solidarity with Catholic Sisters in their work toward a more just society for
all of God’s people.